Jack.



J. u.I s HEHAN.

JACK. Arvcnlou mfp Nov. 1 3. |912.

Patented May 7,1918'.

www y 'Zas l. H. SHEAHAN.

JACK.

l APPLICATION r|L:n'uov.1s. 1912,.

Patented May 7,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET s.

z3 @da UNITED sTArEs rngrnivr OFFICE.

l Y 'JAMES SHEAHAN, OF FBEEOBL-ILLINOIS.

l I JACK.

1,265,264. Specication of Letters Patent. Patented May 7 1918.

Application led November 18, 1912. Serial N o. 731,079.

To all lwhom t may concer/n Be it known that I, J AMES H. SHEAHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Jacks, of which the followingl is a specification.

This invention relates kto jacks and has for its object to provide a new and improved portable jack adapted to be operated by a suitable motor.

The invention is illustrated in theaccompanyin'g'drawings, whereiny f Figure 1 is an elevationof a ack embodying the invention with a portion of the outer casing removed showing the'internal mechanism;

.Fig 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view showing one form of" motor to be used yin operatingthe jack; y

Fig. 4 is a sectional view takenI on line of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view showing several-jacks in use and arranged so that the load upon them will ,be equalized automatically; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the jack mounted on wheels;

Fig. 8 is a view showing a form of. beveled.

teeth for the toothed -wheels where the train of gears are'disconnected;

Fig. 9 is a view showing the ratchet and brake for the driving shaft;,

Fig. 10 is aview showing one construction i of the fan on the driving shaft;

Fig. llis an enlarged sectional view taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectional View taken on line 12-12 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 13 isa side view vwith parts broken away of a jack having a straight front;

Fig. 14 is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 13. 5

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

f In the construction illustrated in the v i' drawings, I have shown a jack having a casing 41 and a movable lifting member 2 mounted in said casing. Said movable lifting member may have the two load engaging parts 2? and 2,b and is preferably provided on oppositesides with teeth 3 which are enable Ilifting member being located between used for this purpose.

gaged by toothed wheels 4 and 5, the mov-4 that power applied to said shaft may bemultiplied. The shaft 8 is arranged so that Y a motor or other power applying device may be applied thereto. In the construction shown, this train of gears consists alternately of the small toothed wheels 9 and the large toothed wheels 10, the large wheels -meshingwith the small wheels. A portion of this train of gears is located on one side of the movable memberv 2 and the other portion on the other side of said movable member. Connected with this train of gears are one or more intermediate power applying shafts 8EL arranged so that power may be applied along the different points of said train of gears so'as to vary the power applied to the movable member at a speed of movement of said member. When power is applied at` an intermediate point to the trainof gears,

said train is disconnected so that the gears at the rear of the point of applying the power will be thrown out of gear and will remain idle. -Any desired means may be In Fig. 6, I h ave illustrated a simple construction for this purpose. The small toothed wheel 9 is slidably mounted upon the-shaft 8c and is provided with teeth 11 adapted to engage teeth 12 on the gear 10. It will be seen that by lsliding the small wheel to one side, it will be disconnected from the next large wheel 10.

This sliding to one side may be accomplished by means of a suitable forked controlling member 13 which projects through a slot 14 in the casing of the pick. The teeth of the small gear 9 and large gear 10 where the connection` and disconnection are made, are

v preferably beveled at their ends so that they will be easily connected when the gear v9 is slid toward the gear 10 even when the teeth are not in mesh,the beveled faces moving the gears relatively so that the teeth will mesh. This beveled construction is shown in Fig. 8. It will be seen that this train maybe disconnected at any number of intermediate points. I have simply shown one y. wrecking p* y vit is desired. to jack up a car or engine, I

8 or to the `shaft 8*". I have illustrated in Fig. 3 one form of motor which can be operated by a small amount of power. This motor as illustrated .is an air motor. In view of the fact that one of the important uses of these acks is in connection with railvir-'ay work, leither railway shops or on cars or out on the llne wherever have shown this motor as an air motor as -there is always compressed air handy on the trains or in the shops so that the motor can be easily and quic ly coupled up to the source of air supply in the shops orto the air pipe of the train: This motor is also arranged to act ad a brake when not acting as a motor thus permitting the'movable memto be connected to the source of air supply and an exhaust port 22 adapted kto exhaust into the atmosphere. Associated with each cylinder is a controlling valve 23 connected with the rotatable shaft 24 to which is con-l nected a wheel 25. A Wheel 26 is connected with the shaft 19 and these two wheels are connected together by a suitable belt 27. As

air is admitted through the admission port 21, the piston moves downwardly and the valve 23 rotates in the direction of the arrow, keeping the port 22 clo'sed and the port 21 open. When the piston reaches theY end of its stroke and is ready for 4the return stroke, the valve 23, is moved so as to open? the exhaust port 22 and close the admission port 21. The piston now moves upwardly forcin the air out of the exhaust port. If now t e air is turned off and the weight on the movable member of the jack starts to move said movable member downwardly, the motion of shaft 19 is reversed. This reverses the movement of the valve 23 causing it to move in a direction opposite to the arrow. If now the piston moves downwardly, it will be seen that ,the valve 23 will be moved in the direction opposite the arrowy .and will close the admisslon port 21 and open the exhaust port 22, permitting air to be drawn in. As themovement continues and the piston starts' on its upward stroke,

the valve 23 moves to a position where it closes the exhaust ort 22 and opens the admission port 21.. he piston then forces the `air through the admissionport 21 back to the source of su ply of air. The admission port is provide with a pipe 21 leading to the source of air supply having a valve 28. By controlling this valve this compressed air may be let out gradually so as to permit the movable member of the jack to lower gradually thereby giving complete control of the backward movement of the jack, the motor acting asa brake to retard this backward movement. I prefer to have three or more cylinders 15, all of them beingconnected by a pipe 21 with the same source of air supply. The cranks of the'three cylinders will be at different angles so that there will be no dead center. The motor is preferably provided with the projecting handles 29 by means of which it is held in position when connected with the shafts 8 or 8a. I prefer to provide some means for holding the motor in position without requiring the attendance of'the operator. As shown in Fig. 7, the casing of the jack is provided with the lugs 30. When the motor is connected with the shaft 8, a bar 31 is run behind these v lugs and one of the handles 29 on the motor' engages this bar, thus holding the motor in position. The shank 20 of the motor may be connected with the shaft 8 by means of a removable pin 32, in which event the shank and shaft may both` be circular. I prefer to provide both ends of the motor shaft with the Shanks 20. -When one shank is connected with the shaft 8, the motor drives the,

movable member of the jack upWardl If now the weight on the jack is not s cient to move'it back, the motor ma be turned around andthe other shank 20 pl'ae'd on the shaft 8 whereupon the motor will reverse the movement of the train of gears and jack and positivel lower the movable member 2. In Fig. 5, {have shown a series of jacks arranged so that the load upon them will be automatically equalized. These jacks are V shown forpurposes of illustration beneath the end of a heavy weight 33 which' is to be raised to an inclined position, thus illustrating a conditionpwhere the movable members of each of the jacks must be moved a differentdistance and ata different speed. Under these conditions, the several motors 34 lassociated with the various jacks are connected by separate pipes 35 with a storage tank 36, said storagetank being connected by pipe 37 lwith'the-source of air supply. The pipe 37 is provided with a valve 38 to control the pressure of air in the tank'36. This tank is lalso preferably provided with a safety valve 38 and has a series of projecting connecting elements 39to which the pipes 35 are connected. Each of these connecting elements is provided with a suitable valve so that the air passing therethrough may be controlled and sovthat when not in use may be shut ofi'. It

will be seen that by means of this construcltion, the motor for all the jacks is connected` and with the same source of air supplys the therefore has the same pressure.

R weight upon any movable member of any jack increases, it will be seen that the jac backward movement of the jacks.

' simple form of construction for the purpose l will automatically slow down so as to permit the other jacks to catch up as it were, the result being an automatic equalization of the pressure of the movable members of all of the jacks.y It ywill be seen that by means of this invention any number of jacks may be placed under a given load and yet the pressure on the movable members of the jacks will be automaticallyl equalized without regard to the relative hei ht of the mov.- able members of the several Jacks and without requiring operators at the several jacks, as a single operator at the tank can control all of these jacks at will by operating the proper valves. With this construction the load may be lowered by the operator at the tank shutting the valve 38 so as to disconneet the tank from the source of air supply, whereupon the motors of the jacks willl be rotated backwardly and will act as brakes forcing the air into the tank 36. The operator may let out this air by means of any of the proper valves so as to secure the proper This backward movement will also beV under equalized pressure. I also prefer to arrange the jacks so that they can be easily moved from vplace to place. rl`his may be done for example by means of wheels 40 mounted on anl axle 41. This axle may be removably connected to the jack in any desired manner as by means of the overhanging lugs 42 and the rotating holding part or button 23. The wheels can be removed by turning the but# ton 43 and then moving the axle out from under the overhanging lugs. IVhen the wheels are in position, the jacks may be inclined so that the weight rests on the wheels and they can then be easily moved from place to place. lVhen an air motor is used to operate the `jack it can be arranged to operate with a very low pressure such as ten pounds or less. The jacks can be made of any desired size, capacity, form or arrangement depending'upon the conditions under which they are to be used. I have shown a of illustration but I do not limit myself to 'the form and arrangement herein shown.

lVhen the jack is used out on the road, for example, it can be connected to the air hose on the car at or near where the jack is to be operated, thus making it simple, easy and convenient to use. I have shown an air motor for the reason that all shops and trains are provided with air thus making it easy v to operate the jack in any of these construca braking lever 47 arranged so that it can be moved into engagement with the brake wheel so as to control b hand the backward movement of the ac The jack itself may be operated by means ofa crank or any other hand mechanism by connecting said mechanism with the shaft 8.

I prefer to provide the shaft 8 with a suitable retarding fan'48 so that if the power should fail and the movable member ol the j ack start downwardly under the load this fan would act to retard the backward.

movement so as to prevent injury to the part-s. It will be seen that if the movable member of the jack moves downwardly under the load the shaft 8 would be moved at a veryhighrate of speed on account of the gearing and hence the fan would pro-l vide a sufficient resistance to prevent in]ury to the parts. I prefer to arrange this fan so that it provides a smallerresistance as the jack member is moved upwardly and a greater resistance as the jack member is moved downwardly.

I have shown one arrangement for this purpose wherein the fan blades are made V-shape the point of the V moving against the air as the Jack member is moved upwardly and the open part of the V moving against eoy the air as the jack member moves downv Wardly thereby greatly increasing 'the resistance. It will also be noted that in this particular construction there is no unnecesars may be sary friction as the various usual manmounted in ball bearings in tte;

ner. v

Some suitable means is provided for automatically stoppin the jack when the movable member reac es this upward limit of .its movement. As shown in Figs. 1 and 12,

the shaft 8 is provided with a brake actuated by the movable member 2 when it reaches a predetermined position. This brake as shown consists of the arms 50 and 51 connected together and properly supported. The member 2 has an engaging part 52 which engages the arm 50 and causes it to move arm 51 so as `to apply pressure to the shaft 8 and stop its rotation. The arm 51 may be provided with a spring 53 if desired to cause a gradual application of the brake. The brake 1s automatically released by gravity when the member 2 is lowered. The

member 2 has another engaging part 54 which engages a stop piece 55 at the top of the casingof the jack so as to prevent the movable member 2 from being moved entirely outside of the casing.

ln Figs. 13 and 14, I have illustrated a jack having a straight front so that it can be placed directly against a wall or an` obstruction in order that the lower engaging part would project under the wall or obstruction so as to engage it.

It will be noted (see Figs. l, 2 and- 6) that the casing 1 is provided w1th two interior partitions between which the lifting member 2 is received, that the'seinterior partitions divide the casing, as it were, into three chambers, a central chamber containing the lifting member, and two side chambers containing the two sections of the train of gears, one section beingy in one chamber and the other section being in the other chamber, the shafts upon which the gears are mounted being supported at one end by these partitions and at the other end by the outer walls of the casing.

l claim:

l. A portable jack comprising asuitable casing. a movable member mounted in said casing, a train of gears connected at one end with said movable member so as to move it with relation to the casing when operated, means for connecting a motor to said train of gears at different points therealong, 'and means foirdisconnectlng the gears intermediate the connecting points of the motor.

A portable jack comprising a suitable casing, two interior partitions dividing said i casing into three chambers, a central chamber and two side chambers, a movable member mounted in said casing between said partitions and having teeth on opposite faces thereof, two toothed wheels engaging the teeth on 'said movable member,` said wheels operatively connected together, a train of gears connected with one of said toothed wheels, said train of gears divided into two sections, one section contained in one of said side chambers, and the other section contained in the other side chamber, an operating shaft at the end of said train of gears projecting from said casing.

3. The combination with a casing, of two interior partitions dividing said casing into three chambers, a central chamber and two side chambers, a movable member mounted in said casing between said partitions and having teeth on opposite faces thereof, two toothed wheels engaging the teeth on said movable member, said wheels operatively connected together, a train of gears conl nected with one of said-toothed Wheels, said train of gears divided'into two sections, oneA section contained in one of said side chambers, and the other section contained in the other side chamber, shafts for said earsY supported at one end by the walls o the casing and at the other end by said partitions and an operating shaft at the end of said train of gears proJecting from said casing, and means for applying a motor to said shaft so as to operate the jack and a supporting device associated with said casing for supporting the motor thereon.

4. A portable jack comprising a suitable casing, a movable member mounted in said casing, a train of gears connected at one end with said movable member, a shaft at the other end of said train of ears arranged so that power may be applied thereto to drive the gears and move said movable'member and a retarding fan connected with said train of gears and adapted to retard the movement thereof as the movable member is moved toward its initial position.

5. A portable jack comprising a suitable casing, a movable member mounted in said casing, a driving shaft operatively connected with said movable member and a brake device for said shaft directly actuated by said movable member when it reaches a predetermined position.

6. A portable jack comprising a suitable casing, a movable member mountedin said casing, a train of gears connected with said movable member, a driving shaft connected with said train of gears so as to operate the same, a brake device associated with said driving shaft comprising an arm adapted to be directly engaged by a part on said movable member and a friction part connected .with said arm and adapted to frictionally engage the part associated with said shaft whereby the power applied to the movable part is used to set the brake.

7. A portable shaft comprising a casing, a movable member mounted in said casing, a train of gears connected with said movable member, fan blades within said casing and connected with a rotating part connected with said train of gearing, said fan blades acting to resist the backward movement of the gears in said train.

ln testimony whereof, I al'iix my si nature in the presence of two witnesses thls 26th day of October.

JAMES H. SHEAHAN.

Witnesses:

DENIE A. WALTERS, MINNIE M. LINDENAU. 

